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CME is a leading media and entertainment company that serves approximately 50 million people in six Central and Eastern European markets. The task of creating a comprehensive and transparent forecast across three divisions, six regions, and dozens of locally managed teams is a highly complex operations that required a 15-strong team of dedicated power analysts.

The Issue

The FP&A team was using a combination of Hyperion Enterprise and Excel spreadsheets to create a forecast. Without a connected cash flow or balance sheet, the manual work required to tie up the numbers meant that FP&A was forced to focus on data collection and processing, instead of actual analysis. The team was instructed to implement a new planning system that coordinated with the implementation of new financial systems, with a go-live deadline of three months.

The Results

Anaplan was implemented after the FP&A leaders saw its potential to “make a miracle happen.” Anaplan’s user-friendly interface made it easy for the team to begin working in the platform self-sufficiently. The platform rendered complex operations simply, so that employees could focus on the analyzing the data instead of trying to make sense of it. As a result, productivity soared. As Bruce Dixon, the VP of FP&A explains, “Our board report turn around time used to take six to eight working days. With Anaplan we’ve set a new record by turning the report around in two days.”

About the Author

Anaplan is driving a new age of connected planning. Large and fast-growing organizations use Anaplan’s cloud platform in every business function to make informed decisions and drive faster, more effective planning processes. Anaplan also provides support, training, and planning transformation advisory services.